It is often necessary and desirable to electrically connect one component to another component. For example, a multi-terminal component, such as a connector, is often electrically connected to a substrate, such as a printed circuit board, so that the terminals of the component are securely attached to contact pads formed on the substrate to provide an electrical connection therebetween. One preferred technique for securely attaching the component terminals to the contact pads is to use a solder material around a particular area, such as a hole, which typically receives one component terminal. As is know, a solder is a fusible metal alloy with a melting point or melting range of about 180 to 190° C. used in a soldering process where it is melted to join metallic surfaces.
Solder often comes pre-mixed with, or is used with, flux, a reducing agent designed to help remove impurities (specifically oxidised metals) from the points of contact to improve the electrical connection. For convenience, solder is often manufactured as a hollow tube and filled with flux. Most cold solder is soft enough to be rolled and packaged as a coil, making for a convenient and compact solder/flux package.
In a typical application, the solder material, e.g., solder paste, is generally applied around each contact hole and then heated after the conductive pin is received within and extends through the contact hole. The heating of the solder paste causes the solder paste to flow around the conductive pin and the contact hole. The cooling of the solder paste results in the conductive pin being securely attached to one of the contact pads formed on the substrate.
While the use of solder paste is effective in some applications, there are a number of applications in which an improved solder construction is needed or desired due to the orientation of the solder, etc., in the application.
It is therefore desirable to provide an alternative solder construction.